Murder She Wrote Writer Peter Fischer Pens Hollywood Murder Series!

Murder, She Wrote (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
"I sit down on one of the benches and clasp and unclasp my hands. I pick up a copy of  'Look' from a table. I open it up. Good news. Charlie Gehringer, the old Detroit Tiger second baseman, got elected to the Hall of Fame.
Good for him. Stead and reliable and too often underrated. Score one for the good guys. Israel gets to
join the United Nations. There were 12 votes against.
Probably those spoilsport Arab countries who couldn't
lick one small band of determined Jews. Score two for the good guy. I turn the page to a huge celebration going on in Bangkok. Siam has just changed its name to Thailand. I'm breathless. I'm astounded. Actually, I couldn't care less but apparently 'Look' thought it was a big deal. I toss the magazine aside wondering how 20th Century Fox is going to handle the re-release of 'Anna and the King of Thailand'.

Love Has Nothing
 To Do With It:
The Hollywood Murder 
Mysteries


By Peter S. Fischer




I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read my first novel from Peter S. Fischer. You may not have recognized the name--but when you hear "Murder She Wrote" or "Columbo" you will know that a wonderful writer was behind those whodunit programs! And his latest is just as enjoyable...

One of the things I liked about Murder She Wrote was that there was a central home site where Jessica lived. It allowed individuals to get to know the main characters and become intimately involved with the series. For myself, I think I've watched every program there was, and some of them more than once..

And it was the setting that I loved for Fischer's latest series: The Hollywood Murder Mysteries. I'll be getting the rest of these because I know that I'll enjoy them as much as Murder She Wrote!

Joe Bernardi is the main character and a publicist for Warner Brothers... We are in Hollywood...but...

The Year is...1949, for this third book. Note that each is set in a different year. What that means is, I think, since I haven't read the rest yet, is that readers will learn what was happening in Hollywood during that particular year, as illustrated in the above excerpt. 

Of course I recognized names such as James Cagney, who plays an interesting role in the book, as well as Joel McCrea and George Burns even was having his obituary updated by one of the characters, who was sure he'd soon be dead...

Bernardi is a likable guy who arranges "things" for all of the actors being filmed at any given time. For instance, Cagney agreed to play umpire for a group of kids against their parents. The story shared by the author may or may not have been real but it certainly added a warmer, friendlier dimension of Cagney's character than we would never see in any of those gangster films in which he starred!

But Bernardi was called when his ex-wife was being accused of murder!

Not only does this create trouble with his present lover, he recognizes that he still cares for his former wife, at least enough to want to help get her free.

Lydia was once married to Tyler Banks who was an agent that fronted only unknowns and was an abrasive character that Bernardi had never liked. Banks had called his ex-wife out of the blue and asked her to go and get an envelope from his home and bring it to him. She did and then he rudely told her to leave. But soon after, Lydia heard a shot and went back in, finding him dead and the envelope gone!

But a very influential man, the father-in-law of Banks, had pulled some political strings and the police are ready to go to trial and convict. Except...the detective that had been working on the case until he was told to move with the accused, had just developed the guts to stop following this type of instruction from his boss. So behind the scenes, he worked with Bernardi and Lydia's boss, bail bondsman Mick Clausen, who was also in love with Lydia--much to Bernardi's delight! Hopefully, this would convince Bunny that he loved her, not Lydia!

There was a very nice and tight little twist or two that totally got me off-track, but of course I enjoy a mystery better when I don't discover who did it until the end! Needless to say, the writing is fantastic and, for me, the topic was a true escape into our past entertainment world. Expect it to be quite different from today's! But that's why readers will enjoy visiting Hollywood as it was in the past... A marvelous concept that hopefully will continue up into the 60s and beyond! Loved it!

GABixlerReviews

Peter S. Fischer is to right of Angela...

Peter S. Fischer is a prolific writer producer with over 25 years of experience in network television. Among his many credits is "Murder, She Wrote" which he created with the well known television team of Richard Levinson and William Link. He also served as Executive Producer for the first seven years and contributed over 50 scripts. As producer he was the winner of two Golden Globe awards from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for Best Television Drama and also received an "Edgar" from The Mystery Writers of America, in which he is an active member. In addition to "Murder, She Wrote", the author was also involved for many years with "Colombo" starring Peter Falk, first as Story Editor and later as producer. During this time, he wrote 12 ninety minute and 2 one hour episodes for the series. His other credits as a writer-producer include the nine-hour miniseries "Once an Eagle" starring Sam Elliott, the 5 hour miniseries "Black Beauty", as well as several movies-of-the-week. His first movie-of-the-week "The Last Child" was nominated for an Emmy in the category of Best Television Movie. Other series created by Mr. Fischer include "The Eddie Capra Mysteries", "Blackes Magic" starring Hal Linden and Harry Morgan, and "The Law and Harry McGraw" starring Jerry Orbach and Barbara Babcock. His writing credits include, among many others, "Marcus Welby, M.D.", "Kojak", "Barreta", "Mac Millan and Wife" and "Ellery Queen". The latter was his first producing credit. A graduate of The Johns Hopkins University, he is the father of 3, grandfather of 6 and currently lives with his wife Lucille in the Monterey Bay area of Central California.

In 2009, Mr. Fischer came out of retirement to write the political thriller "The Blood of Tyrants". It is must reading for those who love this country and the freedom it represents. It is available on this website, along with the follow-up, "The Terror of Tyrants". Both are page-turning, thought provoking novels concerning the dangerous direction this country is now heading.

In 2011, Mr. Fischer released book one of "The Hollywood Murder Mysteries", "Jezebel in Blue Satin". The series continues in book two, "We Don't Need no Stinking Badges".

Find out more at http://www.thegrovepointpress.com/.